NBA Finals ratings down 50% from last year

The Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and ABC are bracing for a steep double-digit drop in television viewership for the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.

Entering Game 4 on Oct. 6, this year’s Finals matchup between LeBron James’ Lakers and Jimmy Butler’s Heat is averaging 6.71 million viewers, down 50.3% from the same point in last year’s Toronto Raptors-Golden State Warriors matchup.

Source: Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports

ANALYSIS: Given the circumstances of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, many expected viewership ratings to drop a bit for the 2020 NBA Finals. A 50% drop though from last year to this year seems to be pretty significant. 

The NBA is now competing with the MLB playoffs and the NFL regular season and this could be a big reason why viewership has been so low for the 2020 Finals. The NBA will hope to see an increase in ratings for Game 5 as the Lakers have a chance to win their first title in a decade.